BY Joe Werkmeister | SPORTS EDITOR
There were no surprises for Longwood sophomore Malik Rasheed at the state wrestling championship. In each match over the two-day tournament at Times Union Center in Albany, Rasheed faced a wrestler he had already competed against at least once before.
By the time he reached the finals at 112 pounds, he found himself facing the most recent wrestler to defeat him, Huntington junior Nigel McNeil.
Rasheed lost 9-3 in the county final to McNeil before earning an at-large bid to the state tournament. He made the most of it, advancing all the way to the finals for the first time, but once again could not get past the stocky McNeil.
McNeil won by major decision against Rasheed, 11-2, to claim the state title. After placing fifth in the state a year ago, Rasheed settled for second and a 42-5 season record.
"I just have to work more on my hand control and a little bit more on my shots," Rasheed said. "He's the strongest I've wrestled."
To try to counter McNeil's strength, Rasheed said he focused on his technique and speed.
Rasheed came out aggressively and shot for the first takedown but couldn't convert. Once McNeil got rolling, he took control of the match.
In the semifinals Saturday morning at Times Union Center Rasheed faced Tim Schaefer of Lancaster (Section VI). Rasheed defeated Schaefer twice in last year's state tournament, winning in the quarterfinals and the fifth/sixth consolation final. Both matches ended 3-2.
It wouldn't be nearly as dramatic this year as Rasheed pinned Schaefer, a freshman, in 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
"I thought it was going to be a little tougher match," Rasheed said.
The tournament had an odd beginning for Rasheed.
As he warmed up for his first bout early Friday morning, he learned he would receive a bye for his match against Jimmy Morris of St. Anthony's, a third-place finisher in the state last year. Stunningly, Morris had failed to make weight and was immediately bounced from the tournament wrestlers strive all year to reach.
Rasheed had beaten Morris earlier in the year in a close match and it was expected to be another competitive match.
Instead, Rasheed waited.
When he finally got a chance to wrestle -- he was one of only two wrestlers in the tournament to get a bye -- he found himself facing a wrestler who had beaten him earlier in the year at Eastern States, Brandon Ling of Penfield (Section V).
"I wish I would have had the first match," Rasheed said. "I think I would have wrestled better."
Rasheed won a dramatic 3-2 decision against Ling, scoring a takedown just before the buzzer sounded, his first and only lead of the match.
Penfield coaches contended the takedown came after the clock expired, but the referees didn't hesitate to count the points.
Rasheed and Ling were at a neutral position in the final 15 seconds. With Ling on the defensive, looking to run out the clock, Rasheed took advantage. He shot low, swung Ling to the ground and gained control on top for the two points.
In the second period Rasheed trailed 1-0 and was fighting on top to try to keep Ling from earning an escape point.
"He's got a nice stand-up," Rasheed said. "I just kept on going to different moves and he ended up getting out. I knew I had to pick it up from there."
Rasheed made it 2-1 on an escape to set himself up for the winning score.
By the end of the match, Rasheed was running on fumes.
"I wasn't warmed up from the beginning," he said. "I was a little cold. In the third period I felt it a little more."
Longwood had one other wrestler at the tournament, 285-pounder Ben Lee. A senior, Lee won his first match, pinning David Brown of Flushing in 3:30. He lost his next match 7-2 to the No. 1 seed and state champion, Lance Moore of Johnson City.
Lee lost his next match in the wrestlebacks, getting pinned in 2:21 by Tim Gegaj of John Jay, ending his tournament.
joew@northshoresun.com
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